What It Means to Be Human
by belpoisblue
Summary: A conversation between Jeremie and Aelita after the ep Killer Music. Aelita is afraid Jeremie will never love her the way she loves him because she's not really human. Well, Jeremie pushes those doubts out of her mind. JxA of course, extra-fluffy oneshot.


Jeremie sat at his computer, waiting for the connection to Lyoko to activate. It had been a stressful attack, and he still had a headache left over from that awful song. Just thinking about it made him cringe. He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep until he talked to the one person who mattered to him more than anything else in the world. Although, technically, she wasn't a real person, and she didn't live in his world. _Hopefully that'll change soon,_ he thought to himself. _And she has a consciousness, she has feelings and emotions, she has intelligence, what makes her any less of a person than me or Odd or Yumi or Jim?_

Jeremie was awoken from his thoughts by a soft, lyrical voice.

"Hello Jeremie."

His eyes focused on his computer screen, and he gazed at the pink haired angel on his screen. The instant he saw her smiling at him with those kind emerald eyes he chastised himself for even letting the thought enter his mind that she wasn't a real person.

"Hi Aelita, how are you?"

"I'm…" she paused, "a little shaken."

"From the attack?"

Aelita nodded. "When that song started playing the lab… and we lost contact with you… and I thought…"

Aelita couldn't continue because the idea was too horrible for her to even imagine. But Jeremie knew Aelita well enough to know what she was trying say. He smiled, trying to ease her distress.

"It's okay Aelita. We beat XANA just like we always have and always will. There's nothing to worry about."

Seeing Jeremie's confident smile and watching the way his sapphire eyes twinkled put Aelita at ease.

"You're right Jeremie. I'm just being silly. I just… well… I just care about you. I can't stand the thought of you being in any danger because of me."

Jeremie blushed. "Well… I-I mean… you shouldn't feel bad Aelita. It's my choice…" Jeremie blushed harder, "My honor, even," he said quietly.

The pinkette just looked at him for a moment. How she adored Jeremie. He was her savoir, the light that guided her out of her nightmarish existence. Even after all he had sacrificed for her, he still would still work himself to exhaustion to bring her into his world. The kindness he showed her, it was almost as if…. Aelita wouldn't even let herself think about it. There was no way Jeremie felt the same way about her that she did about him. After researching human emotion, she had discovered that the way she felt towards Jeremie was an emotion called love. But there was no way Jeremie loved her back. She was just a computer program, she wasn't really real. Her emotions were just binary codes, nothing more. Aelita began to sink into depression as she scolded herself for her wishful thinking. Then again, there was that little bit of conversation she had overheard between Jeremie and Ulrich….

"Umm, Aelita, are you alright? Did I say something that upset you?"

Aelita looked up at Jeremie, and saw the same bright blue eyes she loved dearly filled with concern. She loved that look. It made her feel safe, like she wasn't alone. _Maybe, just maybe,_ she allowed herself to think.

"Yes, I… Jeremie I have to ask you something," she said abruptly.

"Anything Aelita, ask away."

Aelita took a deep breath. This was it. "Well, the morning of the attack… the morning that never was… I heard you and Ulrich talking… I heard Ulrich talking about the things you say in your sleep…"

Jeremie felt a lead ball drop in his stomach. _She heard that?! Dammit Ulrich, _he thought to himself. Well, the return to the past couldn't save him here. He was just going to have to face rejection and humiliation from the girl he would die for without a second thought.

"What ahh… what did you hear?"

Aelita felt a crushing sense of disappointment wash over her. She must have misheard, or misunderstood, or… _Wait a second, is he blushing? Oh, what have I got to lose, _she thought to herself.

Summoning up more confidence that she actually had, Aelita spoke, "I heard Ulrich say that you… you talk about me in your sleep, that you say you can't wait to hold me in your arms, and that you… well you… love me," she managed to say.

Jeremie braced himself for the rejection. "Yes, it's all true. I dream about you every night, and I think about you all day. Talking to you is the best part of my day, and I'm sure the day I finally bring you to Earth will be the most wonderful day of my entire life. No one I've ever met makes me feel as wonderful as you do. Aelita…" Jeremie took a deep breath and summed up every ounce of courage he could find, "Aelita I love you."

For a moment there was only silence. Aelita felt a joy she'd never experienced before fill her up from top to bottom. She felt like she was either going to fly or pass out. Then she realized Jeremie was waiting for her response.

"Oh Jeremie, I love you too. You're the most important thing to me in any world, and I can't wait to be face-to-face with you on Earth. I think about you nonstop, and everything we're going to do together when I'm materialized. You've done so much for me, I could never even come close to repaying you. The only thing I can give you is my love, but it's yours completely, forever."

Tears of joy ran down Jeremie's face as heard Aelita's words, more beautiful than any poetry.

"Aelita, your love is the only thing I've ever wanted. I promise you, when you step out of that scanner, I'm going to wrap my arms around you and never let go. I'll always be there for you. No matter what. You're my angel Aelita, and I love you more than I could ever say."

Jeremie had to stop as his voice became choked with emotion.

If virtual beings could cry, Aelita would be sobbing. With his love, Jeremie had validated her entire existence.

"I… I never dreamed that you felt the same way about me. I always hoped against hope that you did but… I'm just a computer program. I didn't think you would really love me."

Jeremie looked hurt. "Aelita… never ever say that. Microsoft Word is a computer program. You're a person, you're human. You have a consciousness, you have intelligence, you have emotions, you can love and be loved. That's what it means to be human. Nothing else matters, not one bit. I love you unconditionally, you're just as human as anyone else, if not more, because you never take your humanity for granted. Aelita, if you trust me at all, trust me on this. You're so much more than just lines of code. Lines of code are black and white. One or zero. They don't think, they don't change, they don't feel, they can't laugh or smile or… fall in love," Jeremie said, blushing a little at his last statement.

Aelita trembled with joy. Even though they were in two different worlds, she felt as though Jeremie was there in person comforting her. The gentle and loving words he spoke to her made her feel warm and secure.

"Thank you Jeremie. I honestly have no idea what would have become of me without you. You're my savoir, my knight in shining glasses. You've brought me back from the edge of the abyss so many times I've lost count. Soon you'll bring me into your world and give me a brand new life, and I'm going to spend that life with you, safe and sound. I couldn't imagine a more blissful ending to our story. And it's all thanks to you, my love."

Jeremie felt like his heart was melting with every beautiful word she said. "I promise I will Aelita. I promise I will do all of that. I promise I'll materialize you, I promise you'll be safe and sound, and I promise we'll be together forever. From the moment you step out of that scanner, I promise I'll always be by your side. You'll never have be alone again."

At that point it appeared that all the words that needed to be said had been said, and the two hopeless romantics from different worlds spent the rest of the night gazing lovingly into each other's eyes, saying more than they ever could with words.


End file.
